Narrative Exposure Therapy: Understanding and Treating Complex Trauma in Survivors of Abuse, War and Torture​

Guest lecture presented to Western Sydney Local Health District by Philippa Specker

Survivors of war and persecution, such as refugees, tend to experience severe, multiple and prolonged forms of trauma that span a life course. These extensive trauma histories present significant challenges to traditional trauma-focused treatments that were developed for single-incident or military-based trauma. Accordingly, traditional PTSD treatments tend to be less effective for refugees, and many clinicians report feeling ill-equipped to meet the needs of refugee clients. To meet this clinical challenge, Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) was developed to provide a short-term and culturally-sensitive PTSD treatment for survivors of multiple and complex trauma. NET combines exposure-based techniques with a human rights focus on documenting an individual’s biography to facilitate the reorganisation of trauma memories into a coherent chronological life narrative. The efficacy of NET is supported by over 15 clinical trials spanning refugee camps in Africa and the Middle East to clinics in Germany and America. This talk will provide an overview of Narrative Exposure Therapy and clinical considerations when working with clients with complex trauma. This talk will share insights and case studies from an ongoing clinical trial testing the effectiveness of phase-based trauma treatment for refugees with PTSD.

For more information on the RTRP Treatment Program for PTSD, please click here.